Sampson State Park
Seneca Lake from Sampson State Park
Sampson State Park is located in New York
Sampson State Park
Location of Sampson State Park within New York State
TypeState park
Location6096 Route 96A
Romulus, New York[1]
Coordinates42°44′10″N 76°54′29″W / 42.736°N 76.908°W / 42.736; -76.908
Area2,070 acres (8.4 km2)[2]
Created1960 (1960)[3]
Operated byNew York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Visitors166,043 (in 2014)[4]
OpenAll year
Camp sites309 (245 electric)[1]
WebsiteSampson State Park

Sampson State Park (along with Sampson State Park Beach) is a 2,070-acre (8.4 km2) state park located in Seneca County, New York.[2] The park is south of the city of Geneva in the Town of Romulus on the east shore of Seneca Lake, one of the Finger Lakes.

The park is located on the site of the former Sampson Naval Training Station, which later became the Sampson Air Force Base.

History

During World War II, the site was the location of the Sampson Naval Training Station; during the Korean War, it became the Sampson Air Force Base, again providing basic training. It is also located next to the former Seneca Army Depot, a munitions storage site. Most buildings are gone leaving a network of 38 miles (61 km) of once-paved roads and trails in a wooded three-square-mile (7.8 km2) area. The surviving building housing the "brig" today hosts a museum featuring displays that depict the activities and lives of the hundreds of thousands of Navy and Air Force personnel as they trained to go to war at Sampson.

After the United States declared the site as surplus, it was purchased in 1960 by the New York State Council of Parks for $500,000.[3]

Both the state park and the former naval training station are named after Rear Admiral William T. Sampson, who was born in nearby Palmyra.

Park facilities

Sampson State Park includes a military museum, a campground with 309 campsites, a sandy beach on Seneca Lake, boat launches, and a marina with over 100 boat slips.[1]

Military Museum

The park is home to a museum run by volunteer Air Force and Navy veterans. The museum holds many artifacts and displays that were around when Sampson was a military base. The hours of the museum are dependent on volunteer support, but is usually open on the weekend.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sampson State Park". NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Section O: Environmental Conservation and Recreation, Table O-9". 2014 New York State Statistical Yearbook (PDF). The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. 2014. p. 674. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Natural Heritage Trust; New York State Office of Parks and Recreation; New York State Council of Parks & Recreation (1975). Fifty Years: New York State Parks, 1924-1974. Natural Heritage Trust. p. 34.
  4. ↑ "State Park Annual Attendance Figures by Facility: Beginning 2003". Data.ny.gov. Retrieved October 18, 2016.


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